How does a person pick the right colleges to apply to?

[mikemac]

<p>

If you start off by looking at finances, you’re gonna eliminate pretty much every college that will give you a good education. OP, especially since you are low income and would qualify for QB, you should not be looking at finances. You should find colleges that offer your major, have the right campus feel, and THEN look at finances.

Really scratching my head over this one. Its as if someone told me “shop for the car you WANT. Go drive some Porsches, BMWs, and don’t forget the Mercedes dealer.” Might be fun, but why bother looking at cars/colleges that are unaffordable when I’m going to end up on the Honda lot?</p>

<p>And the funny thing is the poster giving this advice mentions the OP should apply via Questbridge. Something really doesn’t make sense here to me. If the OP qualifies, Questbridge says

What’s more, if you navigate your way in to a top college as a talented low-income student, you can essentially attend for free. Once accepted, most talented low-income students receive over $200,000 in financial aid to attend an elite private (or the rare high-endowment public) college or university. The university even covers most of your room and board. This makes it cheaper to attend an Ivy League college or other top private school than it would be to attend a community college—where you would have to pay for your own food and housing.

So someone who understands they qualify for Questbridge is taking finances into account when they look at colleges.</p>